Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-02-10
THE SECOND DAY
OF THE INVESTIGATION MO TRECHARGBS
AGAINST SUP. PECK.
Gl. ". Z. Wilkinson on the Stand in ths
MOnng-A Secret Session in
the Afternoon.

The second days session of the Peniten-
tiary Investigating Committee opened at
9 o'clock yesterday morning, all the MEM
hers of the committee being present. The
prosecution was represented by Attorney
Mcclure, OF Moundsville. There was a fair
of parties interested in the pro-
eeedings. Col. E. W. Wilkinson, in whose
name the charges against Superintendent
Peck are brought, was the only witness
put on during the morning, he occupying
the time of the committee until the noon
adjournment. The most interesting por-
ton of his testimony is given below:
At the outset, Col. Wilkinson stated
hat he had been Assistant Superintendent
of the prison, his time as such expiring
September ~, 1856. On the specification
alleging inhuman and brutal treatment of
convicts being read to him, the witness
said:
Il have seen men whipped what l would
call very severely for failing to do their
tasks. | saw a young man by the name OF
John Fawcett bull-riDged, shOO-hyed and
whipped. If were to say how many
times he was whipped | should say one hun
dred. He was whipped September 5, 1855,
September 18th, Odd, October 5th, Goth
and 23d, November 4th twice-ten lashes
in the morning and fifteen in the after
noon-December Sth and January 1St. !
would call the whipping received very Sc
we're
Q.-What indication had you of the
severity of the whipping, if fanny?
Ais back wa completely cut 10
pieces with the lash. / frequently talked
TO the guards about it, and also TO Dir.
Peck. Fawcett is dead now. From q
memoranda | have ] see that he died on
the 9th of January, 1856. He was whip
ped at the times | nave mentioned for fall
ing to do as much work as the contractor
said was his task. Messrs. Bardall IL Co.
reported him. | looked at him every day
or so. At the time | made the last eXaml-
nation his hack was very sore from the
muscles of his thigh up TO his shoulder
blades. His hack was a complete sore
from one end to the other. The hide was
pretty generally OH. In my opinion the
sore on that mans BACK was produced by
the whip or lash. The prisoner was at
tended by DIR. Bruce. In my opinion the
punishment the prisoner got was the d.
rect cause of his death. There was another
prisoner, John G. Roberts, who was pun
ished frequently by being whipped. lie
was whipped severely enOugh..tO make his
back very sore. There were stripes cut
into it, tine flesh being cut and bruised III
places. lie was whipped for failing to do
his task in the whip shop. | do not recol-
lect Of any other whipping being done,
only in general.
On your charges and specifications
YOU charge that a number Of prisoners were
bucked and gagged aud compelled to re-
main thus all day. Tell what you know
about this.
Al do not think it says compelled
TO remain bucked and gagged all day
The prisoners were gagged, but not bucked.
They were gagged by tying 4 stick IN the
mouth and letting it remain there. ! did
not see the men gagged.
Q.-YOu charge Mr.. Peck, the Superin-
tendent, with using prOtane and unbecOm-
ing language concerning the Directors of
the Penitentiary. DO you know anything
about that?
Ayes; he said to me: II am going
down to see the Governor, and if he don't
support me against these Cd d-n sons
of -, | will raise hell'-that he could
do it or would do it, or something to that
effect. He meant the Board of Directors
in using that language.
In explanation of the charge against Mr..
Peck of ''habitual gambling and card play
ing with contractors and employees of the
p~enitentiarv," the witness said he didn't
remember of seeing Mr.. Peck playing cards
but once, aud that was in Mr.. lawmakers
ROOM. He didn't know whether he was
playing for money or not. He only knew
that Mr.. Peck would come in frequently
and count his money and tell the witness
what he had won or lost during the night.
He said he won and lost money by playing
cards with Mr.. HOdgman, secretary Of the
Webster Wagon Company, Mr.. Webster,
Mr.. McCalferty, Mr.. Ilamaker, George
Rupp, and q gentleman they call Captain
Wickham.
Q.-What do you know of Col. Peck
converting the proceeds of the garden be
longing to the institution to his Owl use:
A.-The ground belongs to the State.
1t was planted in potatoes, tomatoes and
onions. He raised the products To the
amount of $50 with convict labor, II
brought them in and sold them to Inc as
COmmisSary of the institution.
Q.-You charge Mr.. Peck with having
purchased supplies for the convicts and
appropriated them to his own use, IN that
he bought a car load of potatoes for the
Use of convicts and took from the same, for
his own private use, until they were all
gone, when it was found that there was a
shortage of 53 bushels, and that he pro-
ceeded to balance the account by charging
them as being used by the cOnvicts, which
WAS false. What do you know about that?
Ale sent Inc tn Wheeling
to buy q car load of pOta-
toes We measured them and there were
800 bushels, or a little over, and Mr.. Peck
said TO me: Il will take 40 bushels OF
those potatoes at the price you paid for
them" | told him that would be all
right. We placed all the potatoes in piles
IN the cellar, and when ] issued potatoes
TO the prison, | measured them, and kept
an account of what potatoes were gotten.
There was a shortage of 80 or 53 bushels.
! All know about it is, that be went down
during the winter and carried them out in
bags or sacks, and used them in his W
building without measuring them, and |
am told he marked the potatoes on the
books rs heing issued to prisoners when
they were not.
Q.-You charge Mr.. Peck with surren-
deriug the control aud management OF the
penitentiary Il contractors and iOremen.
What do you know about that?
Al only know by what be told US in
regard TO contractors making out reports
against prisoners. He told us not to in
vestigate them, but to take them as con-
~clusive-that the contractors were gentle
men, and would not make out a report
against n prisoner that was not correct.
He told us that reports made out by con
tractors should be taken as final, rs they